April 30, 2010

Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir lauded the strong economic ties between the Kingdom and the United States during an address at the U.S.-Saudi Business Opportunities Forum in Chicago today. The event, organized by the Committee of International Trade within the Council of Saudi Chambers in collaboration with the Saudi-American Business Council and under auspices of the Saudi Ministry of Commerce and Industry, aims at enhancing and increasing bilateral economic cooperation and expanding trade and business partnerships.

“The Saudi-U.S. relationship is in its seventh decade,” said Ambassador Al-Jubeir. “It has seen the coming and breaking of many storms. It has been tried; it has been tested. And it has always come out stronger after each experience.”

The Ambassador cited a number of statistics to illustrate the depth of bilateral relations, reporting, “Last year, the American Embassy and Consulates in the Kingdom issued almost 70,000 visas to Saudis. Our Embassy in Washington and our Consulates in the U.S. issued over 60,000 visas to American citizens. These are historically high numbers.” He noted that the number of Saudi students studying in the U.S. has increased from about 2,300 in 2003 to almost 25,000 today. Furthermore, bilateral investments have reached “unprecedented levels.”

Ambassador Al-Jubeir pointed out that the Kingdom and the U.S. are working together to deal with a number of key global issues, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Iraq, Sudan, nuclear issues, the Mideast Peace Process, the financial crisis, terrorism, piracy and energy. “On all of these, the interests of our two countries are aligned in ways they have never been,” he declared. “And the cooperation between our two governments on all of these issues is very extensive.” The Ambassador concluded, “We have a relationship that is entering into a new phase, one that will be even deeper and broader than it has been, and one that will hopefully bring prosperity and security and peace to both of our countries.”

The U.S.-Saudi Business Opportunities Forum is being attended by a delegation of leading Saudi figures, including the Ministers of Commerce and Industry, Finance, and Petroleum; the Chairman of the Saudi Capital Market Authority; the CEOs of Saudi public and private companies and other top businessmen and officials.